Mounting for operating levers



Feb, 10,

L. OTTING ER MOUNTING FOR OPERATING LEVERS Filed Feb. 25, 1922 I eon 62% ATTORNEY especially in Patented Feb. 10, 1925.

LEO-N OTTINGER, or NEWYORK, 1v. Y.

' MOUNTING FOR OPERATING LEVERS.

Application filed February 25, 1922. Serial No. 539314..

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEON OTTINGER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, county and State, of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mountings for Operating Levers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved mounting for operating levers. It is well known that when a pivoted operating lever is mounted quite loosely on its pivot, it is subject to casual "pivotal oscillation or movement axially of the pivot owing to shock or jar which results in a metallic rattling noise due to contact of the lever with the wall of the case or parts of the mechanism actuated thereby. On the other hand, if the lever is tightly held on its pivot by friction, rusting or corrosion of the contacting faces of the'pi'vot and the lever,

cases where the lever is infrequently operated, will prevent'the free operation of the lever and practically hold the same in rigid connection with the pivot.

It is, therefore, the primary object and purpose'of my present invention to provide an improved mounting for operating levers involving simple and effective means which will permit of the loose pivotal mounting of the lever and yet hold the lever in a positive manner against movement axially of its pivot and thereby obviate the objectionable noisy rattling above referred to. In one embodiment of the invention this lever holding means is in the form of a single yieldable spring element which is mounted and arranged for coaction with the lever in such manner as to prevent the casual oscillation of the lever on'its pivot as well as an axial shifting movement of the lever relative to its pivot.

Another practical embodiment of my present improvement is illustrated in the drawing as applied to a latch'operating lever, such for instance as that shown in my pending application for patent, Serial No. 509,823, filed October 24, 1921, in which the lever is mounted at one of its ends for both pivotal and rectilinear movement. In this 'case the invention is in the form of a single yieldable element mounted upon the lever pivot and coacting with the lever to hold the same closely against the wall of the latch case and thereby prevent the axial movement of the lever upon its pivot as well as. its casual pivotal oscillation, said element having a part which also coacts with the lever to yieldingly hold the lever against rectilinear movement in either direction.

The invention is particularly applicable to an operating lever of comparatively great length which is pivotally mounted at one of its ends upon a fixed part and in its generic aspect, contemplates the provision of means coacting with the lever at a oint spaced, longitudinally thereof from its pivot to prevent the axial shifting movement of the level-ion its pivot with respect to said fixed part.

It is a further general object of the invention to provide a device for the above purpose which will be reliable in its functional operation, not liable to get out 0 order and which will not materially add to the cost of manufacture of the latch shown in my co-pending application.

Vith the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the improved lever mounting and in the form, construction and relative arrangement of the several parts as will be hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings andsubsequently incorporated in the subjoined claims. I

In the drawing wherein I have illustrated the invention applied to a latch operating 'lever of the type above referred to and in which similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views,

Figure 1 is an elevation showing the interior lever in its normal operating position;

Fig. 2 is a similar view, the lever having been shifted rectilinear-1y in an upward direction to thereby lock the latch retracting "means against operation;

Fig. 3 is a detail longitudinal section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the spring member, and a Fig. 5 is. an elevation showing the form ofthe device which is applicable to a pivotally mounted lever of comparatively greatlength for preventing axial movement of the lever on its pivot with respect to the fixed supporting part.

In the present description I will refer only to those parts of the latch mechanism which are requisite to a clear understanding of the application and manner of operation of the present invention, .as a more detail explanation of the latch may be had upon reference to' my co-pending application. Accordingly, I have herein shown the side platelO of the latch case, the latching member bolt 11 and the frame 12 secured upon the plate 10 and which provides a supporting means for parts of the retracting mechanism and a guide for the inner end of the bolt 11. The bolt 11 may be retracted by the operation of a handle at the exterior side of the door to'which the latch is applied or by means of-an interior lever 16 whichextends between the intermediate port-ion of the latch bolt 11 and the plate 10 of the latch casing and is adapted to coact with an upwardiy projecting lug 17 carried by the bolt.

The lever 16 is provided at one of its edges with the locking pin 28 which extends into a horizontal slot 29 in the plate 10 and is adapted to be engaged in an upward. extension 30 of said slot at one end thereof when the lever 16 is shifted rectilinearly in one direction so as to position said pin in line with the rod 18 which is connected to the rollback lever l4 actuated by the exterior operating handle.

The lever 16 at its lower end is provided with a longitudinally extending slot 23. A rivet 24 is fixed in the plate 10 of the latch case and the body of said rivet at the inner side of the plate has a shoulder turned thereseated against said shoulder.

on under pressure as indicated at 25, said rivet beyond theshoulder being reduced in diameter as at 26 and extending through the slot 23 in the end of the lever 16. The extremity of the rivet is again reduced in diameter to provide a second annular shoulder 27 and a reduced extension over which the end of the leaf spring 32 is fitted and The extremity of the rivet is then swaged down as at 33 to hold the spring 32 in place and yet permit of its pivoting or turning movement on the rivet. From, reference to Fig. 3 of the drawing, it will be seen that the leaf spring 32 is suitably curved and has an extensive bearing contact upon the lever 16 to force said lever tightly against the annular shoul-' der 25 on the rivet. The spring 32 exerts its pressure against the lever at a point 111 spaced relation to the rivet 24 with such force as to cause the lever to assume a slight angular position with respect to the plane of the plate 10 and to frictionally engage the face of said plate, said spring effectively resisting the tendency of a force applied transversely of the lever to move said lever out of contact with the plate 10 or 111 an axlal direction on the pivot extension 28. The

spring 32 at one side thereof is formed with an offset longitudinally extending finger 34 Whit'h lics closely upon the surface of the lever 16 to pivot stud or rivet 24 lever 16 and is provided at its outer edge with a flange 35 extending over one edge of the lever 16 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, so that in the operating movement of the lever 16. to retract the bolt, the leaf spring 32 will move as a unit with said lever on the rivet 24. At its forward end the flange 35 has an inwardly extending lug 36 which is adapted to engage in either one of the spaced notches or recesses 37 formed in the edge of the lever 16. The flange 35 is also engaged by a spring pressed plunger 31 mounted on the frame 12 so as to yieldingly prevent pivot-a1 movement of the spring 32 with respect to the lever and hold the lug 36 in the notch 37.

Upon a comparison of Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, it will be noted that when the lever 16 is in its lowered normal position, the lug 36 is seated in the upper notch 37. inthe edgeof said lever and thereby holds the lever in its lowered position against an accidentalor unintentional upward movement to its locking position. 011 the other hand, when the lever is raised as seen in Fig.2 the lug 35 engages in the lower notch '37 of the lever. Thus a positive downward force must be exerted on the lever in order to displace the lug 36 from said notch and permit of the rectilinear movement of the lever on the shank of the rivet 24.

.In either position of the lever 16 above referred to, the shoulder 25 of the rivet affords an extensive bearing surface upon which the lever is held by the action of the spring 32. it being understood that the force of this spring is sufficient to urge the lever to an angular position and in contact with the metal plate 10 of the latch case. The spring thus effectively resists any tendency of the shift axially on the rivet 24 in response to vibratory forces. The lever 16 is also held against movement into contact with the side of the bolt 11. It is therefore, apparent that under all ordinary conditions of use the operating lever 16 will be held against vibratory movement upon the rivet 24 and that consequently the objectionable ,rattling noise due to contact of said lever with other parts of the latch will he obviated.

By providing a spring 32 of the requisite strength, the frictional resistance offered by contact of the lever against the face of the plate 10'may be relied upon to prevent the casual pivotal oscillation of the lever and the spring pressed plunger 31 can be dispensed with. I have illustrated such anapplication of the present invention in Fig. 5 of the drawings, wherein the lever 16 has only a pivotal movement, the lever being loosely mounted at its lower end upon the fixed in the plate or other stationary part 10. The pivot stud tion -of the lever.

understood.

. movement, yieldable may be ofthe construction above referred to or of various other forms. The leaf spring 32 in this embodiment is likewise pivotally mounted on the end of the pivot stud 2a or arranged in any other desired manner so that the free end portion of said spring will bear upon the side of the lever at a point which is relatively remote from the pivot and spaced therefrom longitudinally of the lever. It will be understood that the more remote the point of applicationof the spring pressure is from the pivot, the greater will be the resistance to.

any tendency of the lever to shift axially upon its pivot and the greater also will be the frictional pressure of the lever against the face of the stationary plate 10. Accordingly,'this leaf spring may be made of various lengths as the conditions of each particular case may require so as to obtain the requisite frictional resistance to a casual oscillation of the lever on its pivot and yet permit of a relatively free manual opera- In this case, the leaf spring is provided upon each of its edges with an angular flange 35, said flanges engaging over the opposite longitudinal edges of the lever so that said spring will move with the lever as a unit upon the pivot stud 24.

From the foregoing description, the construction, manner of operation and several advantages of the. invention will be readily The improvement which have made will not greatly add to the cost of production of the latch shown in my pending application, while at the-same time the reliability of the latch in its functional operation is enhanced and the possible objection which might be encountered due to vibration and noise is eliminated. I have above referred to a particular form of the rivet 24 which constitutes the pivot and guide for the shiftable lever and also to a specific form of the spring element 32. Ohviously, however, these as well as other structural details of the present invention, might be embodied in numerous alternative mechanical forms, and I accordingly reserve the privilege of adopting all such legitimate changes as may be fairly considered within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

1 In combination with an operating member mounted for pivotal and rectilinear means releasably coacting with means on said member to yieldinfgly hold the latter against a rectilinear shi ing movement.

2., In combination with an operating member mounted for pivotal and rectilinear movement, means pivotally movable as a unit with said member and normally coacting therewith to prevent rectilinear shiftface for the lever, a

ing movement of the member, said means being also pivotally'movable independently of the member, and means resisting such independent pivotal movement of said firstnamed means to retain said means in its effective position.

3. In combination, an operating lever. means for mounting said lever for pivotal and rectilinear movement, and means supported independently of the lever for pivotal movement as a unit therewith, but relatively stationary in the rectilinear move ment of said lever, and coacting therewith to prevent shifting movement of the lever axially of its pivot.

'4. In combination, an operating lever, means for mounting said lever for pivotal and rectilinear movement, and means pivotally moving as a unit with the lever and coacting therewith to prevent shifting movement of the lever axially of its pivot, said means also having a part coacting with said lever to yieldingly hold the latter against a rectilinear movement relative to its pivot.

5. In combination, an operating lever, a pivot therefor, said lever having a slot permitting rectilinear movement of the lever with respect to the pivot, said pivot being provided with a shoulder against which one side of the lever is engaged, and a spring element mounted upon the end of said pivot for unitary pivotal movement with the lever and coacting with said lever to hold the same against said shoulder a and prevent axial movement of the lever upon said pivot.

6. In combination, an operating lever, a fixed pivot, said lever. having a slot permitting rectilinear movement of the lever on said pivot, the pivot being provided with an annular shoulder affording a bearing surleaf spring mounted on the end of the pivot for unitary pivotal movement with the lever and urging said lever into bearing contact against said shoulder, said spring having a part coacting with the lever to yieldingly prevent rectilinear movement of the lever with respect to the pivot. i

7. In combination, an operating lever, a fixed pivot, said lever having a slot permitting rectilinear movementof the lever on said pivot, the pivot being provided with an annular shoulder affording a bearing surfacefor the lever, a leaf springmounted on the end of the pivot for unitary pivotal movement with. the lever and urging said lever into bearing contact against said shoulder, said spring having an off-set lug and the leverbeing provided in one edge with spaced notches to. receive said lug whereby the lever is yieldingly held in an adjusted posi- 8 In combination with a fixed part, a

-tion against rectilinear movement with re- 'spect to the pivot.

lever pivotally mounted on. said fixed part for movement in a plane in parallel relation thereto and means mounted on the pivot of said lever-and coacting with said lever at a pointspaced longitudinally thereof from the pivot to prevent axial shifting movement of the lever on its pivot with respect to said fixed part.

9. .In combination with a fixed part, a pivot stud secured therein, a leverloosely mounted at one of its ends upon said pivot stud for movement in a plane in} relation to said fixed part, and means also mounted upon the pivot stud movable as a unit with said lever and coacting with the lever at a point spaced longitudinally thereof from said pivot stud to prevent axial shifting movement of the lever on said pivot stud with respect to said fixed part.

1,0. In combination, an operating" lever, a fixed pivot upon which said lever is loosely mounted at one of its ends, and means mounted on said lever end pivotally moving as a unit with the lever and coacting therewith to prevent shifting movement of the lever axially of its pivot.

11. In combination with a fixedpart, a pivot stud secured therein, a lever loosely n'iounted upon said pivot stud for movement in a plane in parallel relation to said fixed part, and means supported upon the fixed part independently of the lever and yieldably coacting with said lever at a point in spaced relation to its pivot to constantly urge said lever into frictional engagement with said fixed part to thereby prevent the casual pivotal oscillation of the lever and also prevent vibratory movement of the lever with respect to the fixed part in the axial line of the pivot.

12. In combination with a fixed part, a pivot stud secured therein, a lever loosely mounted at one of its ends upon the pivot stud for movement in a plane in parallel parallel as my invention, I have relation to said fixed part, and a single re-' silient element pivotally mounted at one of its ends upon the lever pivot and coacting at its other end with said lever at a point spaced longitudinally thereof from the pivot to constantly urge the lever into frictional engagement with said fixed part and thereby prevent the casual pivotal oscillation of the lever and its movement relative to said fixed part axially of he pivot, said resilient ele ment having parts engaged with said lever to cause said element to move as a unit with the lever in the pivotal movement of the latter.

13. In combination with a lever supported at one of its ends for pivotal movement, means supported independently of said lever and engaging the lever at a point in spaced relation to its pivot to hold the lever against movement axially of its pivot, while permit ting of a free pivoting movement oii said lever,

14. In combination with a lever, supported at one of its ends for pivotal movement, a leaf spring mounted at one of its ends in coaxial relation with the lever pivot and bearing at its other end against one side of said lever at a point in spaced relation to the pivot to hold said lever'against axial movement relative to its pivot while permitting of a free pivoting movement of the lever.

15. In combination with a fixed guide stud, a lever mounted thereon for limited shifting movement in the direction of its length, and means also mounted upon said stud and coacting with the lever to resist such shifting movement thereof in either direction.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing signed my name hereunder.

r LEON OTTINGER. 

